Failure rate, repair time and unscheduled O&M cost analysis of offshore wind turbines

TLDR

Offshore wind turbine failure rates and repair resource requirements are poorly documented, yet understanding them is essential for reducing O&M costs and the overall cost of energy. This study aims to provide failure rates for entire turbines and their sub‑assemblies based on data from ~350 European offshore turbines. The authors compile failure rates by year, cost category, and failure mode for key sub‑assemblies, detail repair times, costs, and technician numbers, and compare onshore versus offshore rates for generators and converters. The resulting data will improve offshore wind O&M cost and resource modelling, aiding planners and managers in decision making. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Abstract Determining and understanding offshore wind turbine failure rates and resource requirement for repair are vital for modelling and reducing O&M costs and in turn reducing the cost of energy. While few offshore failure rates have been published in the past even less details on resource requirement for repair exist in the public domain. Based on ~350 offshore wind turbines throughout Europe this paper provides failure rates for the overall wind turbine and its sub‐assemblies. It also provides failure rates by year of operation, cost category and failure modes for the components/sub‐assemblies that are the highest contributor to the overall failure rate. Repair times, average repair costs and average number of technicians required for repair are also detailed in this paper. An onshore to offshore failure rate comparison is carried out for generators and converters based on this analysis and an analysis carried out in a past publication. The results of this paper will contribute to offshore wind O&M cost and resource modelling and aid in better decision making for O&M planners and managers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.